Share Your World Week #46

Let’s go see the old church and cemetery.

If you’re reading this, if there’s air in your lungs on this November day, then there is still hope for you.  Your story is still going.  And maybe some things are true for all of us.  Perhaps we all relate to pain.  Perhaps we all relate to fear and loss and questions.  And perhaps we all deserve to be honest, all deserve whatever help we need.  Our stories are all so many things:  Heavy and light.  Beautiful and difficult.  Hopeful and uncertain.  But our stories are not finished yet.  There is still time, for things to heal and change and grow.  There is still time to be surprised.  We are still going, you and I.  We are stories still going.

~ Jamie Tworkowski

Hettie A.  In the church cemetery.

It’s been a long time since I’ve participated in Cee’s Share Your World, and this seemed like a good week to jump back in.  It will give me something to ramble about as I show you some more photos from Sunday’s hike at Trap Pond State Park in Delaware.

Nora M.

What type of popular candy do you not like to get?

I will probably get stoned for this because it is such a popular combination, but chocolate mint (such as the York Peppermint Patty).  I think I am one of the few people on the planet who doesn’t care for the uniting of chocolate and mint.  Let’s not even discuss mint chocolate chip ice cream.  Blech.  I like chocolate.  I like mint.  I just don’t like them together.  The mint overpowers the chocolate, and I don’t see the point in bothering with the chocolate if the flavor is going to be bulldozed over by the mint.

The restored Bethesda Church.  Available to rent for whatever your occasion happens to be.

What do you feel is the most enjoyable way to spend $500?

My first choice would be to spend it on someone else, especially someone else who needs either the money or something I can provide with the $500.  Second choice, would be spending it on family and friends, surprising them with something they want but might not buy for themselves.  But if the point is to spend it on me, it would be a tough choice between something camera related (a new lens, perhaps) or books.  Probably books.  And fresh, new journals.  And pens.  Maybe a sketchbook or two.  Or maybe I’d make a few photo books or calendars.

Isabella. “She was a kind and affectionate wife, a fond mother, and a friend to all.”

Where do you eat breakfast?

I would like to say I eat it sitting at the kitchen table, watching the sunrise through the bay window or looking out at the lagoon.  However.  During the week I frequently end up eating breakfast in the office, watching something on Hulu.  Oh, it’s a bad habit, and I have heard and read all the admonitions about eating while watching television.  On weekdays I am usually on my own for breakfast, and there is the issue of our limited internet access.  We get so many bytes per month plus “free” bonus bytes.  The bonus bytes are available from 2:00 AM until 8:00 AM.  In order to avoid using up our regular bytes too quickly, I watch some television programs on Hulu before 8:00 AM which is when I’m usually eating breakfast.

On weekends, however, I eat at the kitchen table like a civilized person.  Weekend breakfasts are special because M and I make them special, cooking up pancakes or waffles or huevos rancheros or hash browns or some other variety of a breakfast fry-up (usually without the meat).

A reminder that sometimes life is very short.

For those inquiring minds that want to know,  I watch “Empire,” “The Voice,” “Once,” and sometimes “The Daily Show” or “The Nightly Show” (because I like getting my news through the fake news programs).  I am also watching “Heroes Reborn.”  I was excited to see the series return.  Save the cheerleader, save the world!  (Okay, that was the first season, but you get the idea.  I’m a dork.)

Sometimes too short to require a name.

And for those even more curious, I eat a variety of things for breakfast during the week.  Whatever I would eat at any other meal can and will show up for breakfast.  Sometimes last night’s dinner leftovers suit me just fine.  Every now and then, though, I actually eat what some consider traditional breakfast foods albeit with my own twist.  For instance, I was on a brown rice bowl kick for a while.  I would dish up some brown rice, some steamed veggies of some kind (greens are nice, but broccoli or asparagus in season will do), put a poached egg on top, and then pour a little of Isa’s Pad Thai sauce on top.  I love that sauce.  It’s a good thing I’m too lazy to make it all the time or I’d be pouring it on everything.

Millie A. “Parted friends again may meet, From the toils of nature free, Crowned with mercy, O how sweet, Will eternal friendship be.”  Another “Wife of Alexander Lecates.”  Did you notice how many there were?

Would you rather ride on the world’s longest zip lines or bungee jump one of the highest in the world?  This will come with a 5-day all expense vacation.

Do I have to?  If I must, I’ll take the zip line.  Or maybe the bungee jump.  It’s hard to decide.  The interesting thing is that I have recently decided that the next time I have the opportunity to try out a zip line, I’m going to do it.  I’ve been mildly regretting not trying out the zip line at Cape Enrage when M and I were visiting New Brunswick during our brief tour of some of the Canadian Maritimes.  It would have been a good zip line for a beginner such as myself, and honestly, it looked like fun.

Back on the trail.

I’m afraid of heights, you see, and I think trying out a zip line might help with that.  Or at least give me a good rush I can talk about for a week or so if I don’t have a heart attack.  I am not an adrenaline junkie by any means.  In fact, I am meek when it comes to adventures.  Anything that disconnects my feet from the earth usually brings on fear.

To the bridge.

I was recently thinking about what my ideal trip would be.  I would love to spend a few years walking around North America.  Feet on the ground, getting wherever I go step by step.  A pilgrimage, perhaps, to get to know at least part of the continent on which I live.  If I survived that, I’d head south for a walk around Central and South America.  I love walking and hiking, and can’t think of a better way to get around.  The only problem is getting my stuff around with me since I haven’t yet learned how to travel light.

Over the freshwater swamp.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Oh, so many, many things.  I’m always grateful for M, for family, and for friends.  I am grateful for love and laughter, for fresh air and clean water, for all the things that make my life easier.  I am also learning to be grateful for the aches, the pains, the heartaches, and the sorrows.  Not because I am a masochist, but because they are part of living and life itself.  Some sufferings, of course, don’t have to be — they are a matter of choice — whereas others are inevitable.

I am grateful to and for M’s colleagues who came over yesterday to help with some heavy lifting that the two of us could not do on our own.  I am grateful to have been able to provide them with a delicious lunch.  I am grateful for the beautiful weather we’ve had over the past week, and for time spent outdoors.

Swampy.

I am trying not to spend too much time looking forward, but when I do, I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending it with family.  I am looking forward to getting some more work done on the house, and being one step closer to finishing the renovations.

Thank you to Cee for another great set of questions.  🙂

And now for something different although it is not completely different since I’ve done this on a few rare occasions.  A self-portrait.  Because this is a sharing post, and because I feel like I should get in front of the camera from time to time even though I think I will always be uncomfortable with it.  Hmmm… technically, I’m still behind the camera.  Well, you get the idea.

Pink and purple hair!

Thank you for stopping by on this rainy Thursday.  I’m enjoying the clouds and rain.  We still have a rain deficit so it wouldn’t be proper not to have some gratitude for the rain.  I don’t think we’ll see the sunset tonight, but just in case things clear up suddenly, sunset is at 4:48 PM.  If the clouds do part, I’ll meet you at the Point.   Sunsets after a good rain are usually pretty awesome.

In the light and shadows.

Be good, be kind, be loving, be well.  Just Be.  🙂